Current News

To continue to stay ahead of rising demand for wireless voice, 3G multimedia and Internet access in Lamoille County, Vermont, Verizon Wireless has expanded its local network to the Jeffersonville area. Earlier this year the company earned recognition from J.D. Power and Associates for ‘Highest Call Quality Performance among Wireless Cell Phone Users in the Northeast’ *.
‘People across Vermont are increasingly relying on smartphones and 3G apps to manage their busy lives and stay connected at home or on-the-go’
Consumer Advantages
New cell site provides increased wireless voice and 3G data along Route 15, Route 100, Route 108 and Route 109 in Jeffersonville, Johnson and Waterville, as well as to parts of Belvidere and along Route 104 near Cambridge and the surrounding areas
Expanded 3G data capacity in Jeffersonville lets more customers using notebook computers or smartphones:

Fitch Ratings assigns an 'AA' rating to the following 2010 Vermont Municipal Bond Bank bonds, issued under the 1988 General Resolution:
--$24,280,000 (federally taxable recovery zone economic development bonds) series 5.
The bonds are expected to sell via negotiation during the week of Nov. 15, 2010.
In addition, Fitch downgrades $536,855,000 in outstanding general resolution bonds to 'AA' from 'AAA'.
The Rating Outlook is Stable.
RATING RATIONALE:
--The rating downgrade is due to the program cash flows failure to pass Fitch's 'AAA' stress test.
--The program's pledged reserves and loan repayments, excluding federal subsidies, allow the bonds to withstand borrower defaults of up to 20.3% for four years without causing an interruption in bond payments. This is consistent with Fitch's criteria for assigning an 'AA' rating given the loan pool's borrowers' credit quality, size and diversification.

Vermont ranks 9th in the nation in funding programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit, according to a national report released today by a coalition of public health organizations.
Vermont currently spends $4.5 million a year on tobacco prevention and cessation programs, which is 43.4 percent of the $10.4 million recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Other key findings for Vermont include:
In the past two years, Vermont has cut funding for tobacco prevention by 13 percent, from $5.2 million to $4.5 million. Vermont this year will collect $103 million from the 1998 tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend just 4.4 percent of it on tobacco prevention programs. The tobacco companies spend $27.4 million a year to market their products in Vermont. This is 6 times what the state spends on tobacco prevention.

Weekly unemployment claims fell last week after rising briskly five of the previous six weeks. For the week of November 13, 2010, there were 893 new regular benefit claims for Unemployment Insurance, an decrease of 484 from the week before. Altogether 8,768 new and continuing claims were filed, an increase of 273 from a week ago and 2,160 fewer than a year earlier. The Department also processed 2,265 First Tier claims for benefits under Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08), 4 more than a week ago. In addition, there were 712 Second Tier claims for benefits processed under the EUC08 program, which is a decrease of 49 from the week before. The Unemployment Weekly Report can be found at: http://www.vtlmi.info/. Previously released Unemployment Weekly Reports and other UI reports can be found at:http://www.vtlmi.info/lmipub.htm#uc

Westinghouse Electric Company today announced the 2010-11 winners of its N-Visioning a Brighter Future grant program, which awards funding to middle and high schools for creative, hands-on projects.
Administered by the company's speakers bureau, N-Vision, the grant program is designed to encourage both teachers and students to develop projects based on energy, math, science or technology.
The competition is open to all middle and high schools where Westinghouse has a presence. Five schools are awarded $2,000 each to carry out their proposed projects. Winners of the 2010-11 grants are:
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Pinecrest Center School, Aiken, South Carolina
The school's "Newton's Toy Box" project will allow students to rediscover Newton's three laws of motion.
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St. Johnsbury Academy, St. Johnsbury, Vermont

The Champlain Housing Trust announced today that TD Bank, through the TD Charitable Foundation, the bank’s charitable giving arm, has awarded the organization with a $50,000 capital grant to implement an innovative energy pilot program to reduce the energy bills of owners of its shared equity homes. The award was made in conjunction with TD Charitable Foundation’s signature ‘Housing for Everyone’ grant competition.
The ‘Housing for Everyone’ grant competition drew hundreds of proposals from housing non-profits for projects to help improve the housing environment in communities where TD Bank does business. Grant awards were awarded to non-profits looking to preserve and improve home residencies through upgrades to property conditions, increasing energy efficiency, and cost savings through newer heating, cooling, insulation, window replacement, roof replacement and other renovations.

Northern Power Systems, Inc., a leading manufacturer of next-generation direct-drive wind turbines, today announced a partnership with Harvest the Wind Network. The Harvest the Wind Network was born out of a 4th generation family business - BTI Inc. BTI Wind Energy formed the Harvest the Wind Network of dealers to sell, service, and support wind energy products across North America.
‘We are very excited to be partnering with Harvest the Wind Network’ said Parthiv Amin, President of the Community Wind business at Northern Power Systems. ‘This partnership will enable us to expand our world class Northern Powerâ ¢ 100 permanent magnet direct drive wind turbine global distribution channel through their well-established large equipment dealership network across the United States and Canada.’

Leaders of six citizens groups from around the state joined today with VCE and others to call on Governor-elect Shumlin and the new legislature to re-examine their support for utility-scale wind on Vermont’s ridgelines.
‘We are gathered today to sound the alarm bells ‘ nothing less than the future of Vermont is at stake. The proposed ridgeline wind projects will irreparably harm our natural resources and habitats, make hundreds of Vermonters sick, and leave scars that will never heal ‘ all for little if any benefit to Vermont or the environment. There is a better way, and now is the time to change course,’ said Annette Smith, VCE Executive Director.

US Department of Housing & Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan will deliver the keynote address at tomorrow's 2010 Vermont Statewide Housing Conference. He’s scheduled to speak between 9 and 10:15 a.m. Doors open at 8 a.m. Governor-elect Peter Shumlin also will speak at tomorrow’s conference. He’s scheduled to speak for 30-minutes, beginning at 12:30 p.m., and will take questions from the audience following his address.
Sec. Donovan will be the highest ranking housing official ever to speak at the biennial event.
More than 450 people have pre-registered to attend the day-long conference, which is the state’s largest gathering of housing professionals. Pre-registrations have nearly filled the capacity of the venue, but organizers will accept walk-in registrations as space allows.
WHAT
2010 Vermont Statewide Housing Conference
WHEN
Thursday, Nov. 18, 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Sec. Donovan scheduled to speak between 9 and 10:15 a.m.

A one cent per ounce tax on sugary beverages was the center piece of a new plan to reduce obesity in Vermont. Such a tax would add 12 cents to a can of soda and 67 cents to a two-liter bottle. Joined at a Statehouse press conference by legislators, public health advocates and other interested parties, Attorney General William Sorrell today called on all Vermonters to pull together and commit to greater efforts to address the skyrocketing rates of obesity and overweight - rapidly overcoming tobacco addiction as the greatest avoidable public health problem facing our state and our nation.
‘With current trends, our kids’ generation will be less healthy than our own. Shame on us, if we let this happen,’ said Attorney General Sorrell.

FairPoint Communications has met ‘ and surpassed ‘ another key broadband milestone in Vermont.
FairPoint pledged to make broadband available to 80 percent of its customers by the end of 2010 and as of Oct. 31, the company has bested that commitment, said Michael K. Smith, FairPoint state president for Vermont.
‘We’re at 80.5 percent and we still have two months to go in 2010,’ Smith said. ‘I don’t know of any other provider in Vermont who has done more to expand broadband for Vermonters than FairPoint. We’ve increased high-speed Internet from 66 percent in 2008 to now more than 80 percent.’
In 2010, FairPoint has turned up more homes and businesses in Highgate, Thetford, Peru, Williston, Stockbridge, Westford and Marlboro, with additional communities scheduled to come online before year’s end, Smith said.

Greenpeace today flew an airship with a banner reading ‘Shut Down Vermont Yankee’ over what it calls "the risky and dangerous nuclear reactor" to send a message to Entergy, the plant’s corporate owners and potential buyers. Following Entergy’s recent announcement to sell the 38-year old reactor, as well as an unplanned shutdown after another leak of radioactive water, Greenpeace said its action drew attention to the problems facing the reactor and warned potential buyers of the risks of purchasing the plant.
‘Entergy needs to stop trying to squeeze more profit out of Vermont Yankee or dump the mess they’ve created onto someone else, and instead begin preparations to permanently shut down this old reactor,’ said Jim Riccio, Nuclear Policy Analyst for Greenpeace.